Is EP rugby being ruled offsides?

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) have announced that the meeting in which the five South African teams for the 2013 Super Rugby season would be decided has been postponed.

Cheeky Watson, president of EP rugby

The ordinary general meeting scheduled for July the 13th has been postponed but SARU have yet to reveal when the meeting will be rescheduled to leaving the Lions, Cheetahs and Southern Kings in limbo.

The Southern Kings have been guaranteed a spot in the 2013 season’s SA conference, while the participation of the other four teams still had to be decided.

While SARU have guaranteed the Southern Kings participation in Super Rugby for 2013 they also stated that the Kings inclusion would not come at the expense of one of the existing teams.

SARU said in a statement that the meeting was postponed on request from the majority of the provincial unions.

Meanwhile, Cheeky Watson, the President of Eastern Province rugby has denied rumours that the Kings have agreed not to participate in the 2013 Rugby Championship.

The rumours are that EP Kings will receive a huge sum of money from SARU “not to participate in the 2013 Super Rugby tournament”.

Another rumour is that the Eastern Province Kings would be given automatic qualification into next year’s Currie Cup Premier Division as well as a guaranteed Test match against either New Zealand or Australia for the next four years.

In the murky world of South African rugby and behind the scenes boardroom deals, anything is possible. Unfortunately it is yet again the fans, the players and ultimately the sport itself that will suffer.